Space Calendar: Two full moons bookend the nightly skies in May

What’s going on above your head in May? Look up and see!

MAY 1

Full Flower Moon 

The Full Flower Moon rises at 1:23 pm on May 1.

The name comes from the Algonquin peoples of the northeastern United States and Canada — recorded by explorer Jonathan Carver in 1798 and later popularized by the Old Farmer’s Almanac — for the wildflowers that blanket the region this time of year.

Other names tell the same story from different angles: 

■ The Cree called it the Budding Moon.

■ The Dakota and Lakota knew it as the Planting Moon for the start of the farming season.

■ Anglo-Saxon tradition gave it the Milk Moon, from the Old English for “three-milkings-month,” when spring pastures were rich enough to milk cows three times a day.

MAY 2

Asteroid Vesta at Opposition

On May 2, Asteroid 4 Vesta reaches opposition — the point at which it sits directly opposite the Sun in the sky, rising at sunset and remaining visible all night. At magnitude 5.7, it is the brightest asteroid in the solar system and just within reach of the naked eye under a truly dark sky.

Most observers will have better luck with binoculars, which will show it as a steady point of light in the constellation Aquarius in the southern sky.

Vesta is the second-largest body in the main asteroid belt, roughly 330 miles across, and one of only a handful of asteroids ever seen without optical aid. This is its best showing of the year. Dark sky sites south of Asheboro — including the Uwharrie National Forest area — offer the best conditions for spotting it. Use a stargazing app to pinpoint its exact position, as it won’t be bright enough to pick out without a reference.

MAY 5-6

Eta Aquariids Meteor Shower Park

The Eta Aquariids, active from April 19 to May 28, peak overnight on May 5-6. They are remnants of Halley’s Comet and can produce 40-50 meteors per hour in the Southern Hemisphere. From North Carolina, expect about 10-20 at best since the radiant — near Aquarius — rises low before dawn.

In 2026, the waning gibbous Moon will interfere after midnight, reducing visibility. For your best chance, start watching around 4 a.m., when the radiant climbs higher. Choose an open horizon facing east and enjoy.

MAY 31

Full Blue Moon

A rare Blue Moon rises at 4:45 a.m. on May 31 — the second Full Moon to appear this month. It happens because the lunar cycle runs about 29½ days, so when a Full Moon falls on the first or second of a month, a second one can sneak in before the month ends. It’s an event that occurs roughly every two to three years. The last Blue Moon was Aug. 19, 2024; the next won’t come until Dec. 31, 2028.

Despite the name, the Moon itself won’t look blue. The phrase “once in a blue moon” actually traces back to a 1528 anti-clerical pamphlet by William Barlow, Bishop of Chichester, where “the moon is blue” was used as shorthand for something absurd or impossible, like pigs flying. Over the centuries the meaning softened into simply “very rarely.” 

The modern astronomical definition — second Full Moon in a calendar month — came much later, the result of a misreading of the Maine Farmers’ Almanac that was popularized in a 1946 issue of Sky & Telescope magazine. The two meanings have been tangled together ever since.

This extra May Moon closes out the spring season and offers a bright preview of the summer skies ahead.

Moon Phases

■ Full Moon: May 1, 1:23 p.m. 

■ Last Quarter: May 9, 5:10 p.m. 

■ New Moon: May 16, 4:01 p.m. 

■ First Quarter: May 23, 7:11 a.m. 

■ Blue Moon: May 31, 4:45 a.m.